It’s still just a bit chilly for baseball, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get an early start on the season virtually. Twins XR: A Virtual Hall of Fame Experience is officially open, and all you need is a web browser (or a slick VR headset) to hop into a virtual clubhouse and take a trip through Twins history.
REM5, a Minneapolis-based virtual reality company, is the mastermind behind the experience. So, we caught up with Amir Berenjian of the VR outfit for a quick Q&A about the Twins, Easter eggs, and how VR can be used for the good of the community.
tech.mn: Walk us through the inception of Twins XR. How did you get connected with Minnesota Twins and what was the collaboration process like?
Amir Berenjian: Since the pandemic slowed our ability to make high-end VR accessible by literally putting VR headsets on folks, we have invested a lot of time in building WebXR experiences that can be accessed on a regular desktop in a web browser. After running several successful WebXR events last year including art exhibitions, presentations, live concerts, conferences, etc. we were ready to move on to the big leagues (pun intended). With our traditional VR business, we’ve had ongoing conversations with most of the pro sports teams in town, so we naturally planted some seeds about how to use WebXR for creatively engaging fans, both locally and around the globe. The Twins were targeting an in-real-life Hall of Fame experience in January that was canceled so the stars really aligned for bringing this Virtual Hall of Fame experience to life.
tech.mn: Is this the first collaboration you’ve done with an organization like the Twins? Do you think REM5 will do more of these types of projects in the future and, if so, what type of virtual experience would be your “dream project”?
Amir Berenjian: Where we really win is when we can help an organization solve a problem with some help from immersive technology so we’re always excited to find new high-value use cases like this. We’ve worked with a wide variety of groups to date but Twins XR is by far the most ambitious with an attendance goal of 10,000 fans over the two-week period. The need for more digital, social experiences is only going to increase in the years to come so we want to keep pushing the limits of this platform.
tech.mn: These virtual experiences seem like the perfect opportunity to include hidden Easter eggs for users to stumble across. Secret rooms, hidden displays… things like that. Have you ever thought about including that type of feature? What fun Easter eggs would you include if you did?
Amir Berenjian: If I just told you that would take all the fun out of it…
tech.mn: Tell us about REM5 For Good. How can VR be used for the overall good of the community?
Amir Berenjian: That is really where the foundation of REM5 is built – how do we use this technology for social good. The two areas we spend most of our time on at REM5 for Good is K-12 education and diversity and inclusion training where immersive technology can be used as a very powerful storytelling medium. One of the first exhibition spaces we built in WebXR is called “1 City. 2 Realities.” and highlights the racial inequalities here in MN through data visualization, photos, and video. We recently partnered with RFTP to bring this experience to the University of St. Thomas as an innovative educational tool for both faculty and students and also partnered with HandsOn Twin Cities to bring it to Target and General Mills employees.
tech.mn: Lastly, this seems to crack open the door for other partnerships with Minnesota sports teams. When can we expect a “VR Date with Ragnar” experience?
Amir Berenjian: You just dream it up, and we’ll make it happen!
Be sure to check out Twins XR: A Virtual Hall of Fame Experience. It’s free and only available for a limited time.
